The Cricket Thread

[northbank123]

Was just about to say Hales needs to step up but you could see the ball before he went he was panicking. Not the sort of bloke you'd want in the trenches. Just a poor shot.

Losing an early wicket is no disaster with the depth of England's batting and having a few slow-ish overs is okay. What they couldn't afford is for another batsman to chuck away their wicket.

Huge pressure on these two to bat for a decent time and keep it ticking over to lay a platform for some fireworks to get England to a decent total later on.

[casgooner]

What a terrible start for England.

[northbank123]

What a terrible start for England.

Even worse - Morgan can't complain as he didn't pick a single ball from Badree (just like Roy was completely bamboozled). Exactly the sort of bowler that tends to prove England's undoing.

[casgooner]

Not a great position for England, the odds are with the WIndies now, but it is doable. We must bowl very well and field well to have any chance of winning now. Come on lads.

[goonersid]

Ha ha never mind stevo beaten finalists! Still there's still the euros and eurovision to go for

[casgooner]

Stokes you plank. Great batting,, but yet another let down

[northbank123]

Unbelievable. England were on the back foot from the very start and to my mind put in a fantastic performance until that last over.

Despite only one decent-looking partnership And losing wickets regularly they somehow put together a defendable total. They bowled fantastically and has one hand on the trophy before Stokes decoded to serve up four length balls to a number 8 in the last over (although incredible stones from him to despatch them all).

Great sporting occasion as so many major finals turn into damp squibs - even though it's a team sport it's hard to deny that one bloke lost it for England.

Ginger kids up and down the country must be dreading school tomorrow!

[Leyton Gooner]

Gutted. No worse feeling in sport than losing a final, especially like that. I like Stokes but he bottled it big time there.

[northbank123]

Gutted. No worse feeling in sport than losing a final, especially like that. I like Stokes but he bottled it big time there.

Shades of when England bottled the ICC Champions Trophy a decade ago by letting Windies 9th-wicket pair chase down 100.

[Leyton Gooner]

Gutted. No worse feeling in sport than losing a final, especially like that. I like Stokes but he bottled it big time there.

Shades of when England bottled the ICC Champions Trophy a decade ago by letting Windies 9th-wicket pair chase down 100.

I remember it well as I was there. We seemed to just go through the motions once Chanderpaul got out with nearly 100 still needed. Made a mess of our innings in that one as well, just about scrambling to a defendable total

For a team that doesn't get to many ICC finals, we do seem to fuck it up dramatically when we do! 1992, 2004, 2013, 2016...

[corkbarry]

That last over was a joke. I hate to compare but if i had bowled the last over no one would hit a 6. Trundle the ball down so that when it reaches him it would be barely rolling on the grass.

[Perryashburtongroves]

Fucking hell, fucking, fucking, fucking hell. That's all I have to say on the matter because I'm still so fucking pissed off. Six fucking finals and five defeats. Fucking fuck it.

[casgooner]

Fucking hell, fucking, fucking, fucking hell. That's all I have to say on the matter because I'm still so fucking pissed off. Six fucking finals and five defeats. Fucking fuck it.

I know, it feels bad. You'd think he would have learned after he first ball when it was walloped for a six, but he just presented 3 more on a plate. When they were discussing who should bowl the last over I thought nooooo, not him.

I feel for him though, he won't be forgetting that over for a long time.

[officepest]

I don’t want to be too hard on Stokes, because we put on a poor total with the bat; but that last over was fucking rank length.

I hope it was the pressure that got to him, and not some dodgy bookmaker.

[Nos89]

Don't know why Stokes is at fault, where did those sixes come from? No one expected Braithwaite to smack 4 sixes on the bounce as he hadn't shown that form throughout the whole tournament. They were mighty hits. Just hope Leicester and Spurs capitulate in the same manner as England did.